McCausland red: Ex-FIFA official points finger at Ferguson after Rangers incident
Ross McCausland is unlikely to be back in the Rangers starting line-up any time soon after he was sent off in Sunday’s Scottish Premiership draw against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
McCausland, 21, was booked in both the 30th and 40th minutes before Aberdeen went in at half-time 2-0 ahead.
Hamza Igamane and Ianis Hagi scored in the second half, with the latter coming deep into stoppage time, to earn a point in the North East.
His second yellow was as reckless and cynical as they come, pulling Topi Keskinen’s shirt before sything him down as he ran towards the Rangers box.
Keith Hackett reacts to McCausland red card v Aberdeen
McCausland now faces a one-match ban in the Scottish Premiership but the implications of his sending-off at Pittodrie could stretch further.
Barry Ferguson would have no doubt been unimpressed by the young winger’s lack of intelligence but ex-PGMOL general manager Keith Hackett believes Rangers’ interim manager and captain Connor Barron might have been able to do more to help the situation.
“A player already on a yellow card is at risk of receiving a second if he fails to exercise some self-control,” Hackett told Ibrox News.
“When I issued a yellow, I would look at the player to see if he had got the message and often this would be followed with the words, ‘do not do anything rash, you know what the outcome will be’.
| McCausland’s stats in all competitions | |
| Appearances (starts) | 25 (7) |
| Goals | 3 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Yellow cards | 3 |
| Red cards | 1 |
“I would, on the run, have a word with the captain to get him to calm down as well.
“However, there is also a question of the manager; he knows his players better than others.
“Surely if he looks at his player receiving a yellow, he should ask himself, ‘should I sub him at this point rather than running the risk of going down to ten?’.
“That did not happen here for sure.”
McCausland has to be finished at Rangers
Since breaking into the first team at Ibrox last season, McCausland has found himself on the fringes this term.
Although he’s made 25 appearances in all competitions, only seven of them have seen him named in the starting line-up under Philippe Clement and interim boss Ferguson.
McCausland’s red card at Aberdeen could be it for the Ibrox academy graduate, who’d probably look more at home at one of the lesser Scottish Premiership sides.